Holy Crap! Okay, it's just that my inbox is completely full of alerts and reviews and that's just….wow! Holy Crap! I'll work on making my reaction sound a little more articulate in the future. Thanks!

Also, I would really appreciate any kind of suggestions you want to throw out there for consideration. I have a game plan for this story as of now, but I am nothing if not flexible.

And that came out a lot less dirty in my head.

Chapter 2: The Lonely

Edward:

Emmett slams the bat against the ball as hard he could, the cracking sound almost too loud to be confused with thunder. Carlisle takes off after ball as Emmett begins a slow, arrogant strut around the bases. He and Jasper high five near third. Emmett barely makes it around before a disappointed Carlisle appears out of the forest.

I roll my eyes and sigh. Sometimes I feel truly concerned that Emmett's mind might have been marred during his transformation. It would certainly explain a few things.

Eddie! He called to me in his mind, hurling the bat my direction simultaneously. Batter up!

I roll my eyes at the intentions behind Emmett's thoughts. He is challenging me, determined to prove that he is stronger than me. Normally I do not participate in Emmett's more immature contests, but I humor him today. He has, after all, been abnormally annoying with his fantasies of Rosalie as of late.

Alice winks playfully at me as I step up to the plate, already giggling mentally. She eggs me on, wanting to see the hilarity of Emmett's temper tantrum first hand.

I lean in gracefully, propping my elbow up to ready myself. Alice, never one to play easy, throws a fast ball, her wind up creating a staggering force behind the toss.

I connect the aluminum bat the ball with even more force behind it then Emmett had, watching in satisfaction as the baseball splits apart in mid-air, the pieces scattering on the soft grass.

The entire family laughs at Emmett's good-natured swearing, only Rosalie offering to comfort him like the small child he is acting. Jasper hurries to Alice's side picking her up and kissing her endearingly on the forehead. From the corner of my eye, I see Esme gently brush a strand of hair from Carlisle's face.

It is times like this that I feel truly alone—when my family, completely subconsciously, couples off. I know they don't mean to alienate me, make me feel like I don't belong.

But they do.

I know, logically an rationally, that they all love me in some way. There thoughts tell me as much. Carlisle sees me as a protégé, friend and son. Esme now—and always has—considers me as her eldest son whom she adores. I am Alice's best friend, Emmett's favorite brother, Jasper's most avid debater, and Rosalie's…well, she loves me in some context.

But, even as I fill these rolls, I am not complete. I am missing a half of myself, a half of what I could be. I have often tried to imagine Jasper without Alice or Emmett lacking Rosalie.

The image my mind conjures is heart wrenching and depressing.

A near perfect example of how I—the solitary figure—feel surrounded by three blissfully happy couples.

But I purposefully don't tell my family how I feel, because it would only hurt them needlessly. There is no solution to my problem; no potion to cure my loneliness. So, though my family may know the general way I feel mate-less, only one of them truly knows how devastated my soulless heart is.

Jasper, Alice still tucked securely in his arms, turns his head towards me and frowns, his mind swirling from the intensity of my emotions. I smirk at him playfully, trying to diffuse the situation. I don't want any attentions for my loneliness.

Suddenly, slipping out from her husband's arms, Alice gasps loudly, her mind pulling me into a vision, the familiar swooping sensation hitting my stomach painfully.

Four figures emerge from the foggy forest, their graceful strides purposeful.

The insects flee as they approach, the animals running in self preservation. One man, the blonde, seems to be leading them.

Alice pulls out of her vision, her head in dazed stupor. Once I am also free from the images inside my sister's head, I immediately begin to search outwards in my mind, trying to locate the other coven's thoughts.

We have known for a few days now that there was a possibility of meeting the nomads. Although their scents have been carefully masked, no one can completely hide from Alice's visions.

I pick up on the thoughts immediately, listening carefully for any threatening edges.

...about time James found something in this tiny-ass town. I've been itching for a little excitement…

…makes me nervous. We should be heading out. And this other coven, there are so many of them, even with James, I would be worried in a fight…

…seven of them. One smell, I recognize it. So sweet…so familiar. Long ago, where do I remember it from?…

I concentrated closer, sure that I was missing the thoughts of one individual. I was positive that Alice had seen four vampires in the coven, not three. Whose thoughts were I missing?

"How long?" Carlisle asked me, his hand clamping roughly down on my shoulder.

I considered again for a moment, still pushing for the forth immortals thoughts. When none appeared, I sighed, frustrated. "Five minutes," I informed my father hesitantly.

Jasper, always using strategy as his first companion, mentally decides it would be best for us to stand side-by-side and appear as a defensive front. And, though I don't detect any threatening advances from our visitors, I agree with him. We all line up, each of my family members standing beside their mate protectively. And I, of course, stand alone. Alone in a filled clearing.

They appear a few moments later, their walks feral and primitive. I take in each of their appearances and thoughts, acting as the safety detector in my family.

The one who is their leader, the blonde male, is on the farthest left, one of his arms slung across his mate's shoulder. He looks around the red haired woman to send a silent message to his coven-mate—Laurent—and directs him to take the lead. James wants to seem inconsequential. He wants to blend in.

His mate, Victoria, is perhaps the most dangerous. She has a thirst for violence and excitement. Her mind is craving the adrenaline of the hunt and readiness to serve her mate. She is, undoubtedly, more loyal to James than he is to her.

Laurent is extremely anxious. He does not enjoy a fight like his two other Coven mates, and the size of my family makes his even more nervous. That, and the odd appearance of Jasper's battle wounds makes him think of fleeing in self-preservation. Only his fear of James keeps his feet moving towards us.

The last one—a woman—is hidden from my view. She crouches lowly behind James and Victoria, though they think nothing of her. I can see only the chestnut hair that flies around in the wind.

I open my mind as wind I can, wincing as everyone's thought crowd me at once.

But none of the new girl's. I push again, purposely towards her, and hit nothing but silence.

I blink, stunned.

I…I can't hear her.

I take a minute to adjust to the realization, still completely shocked that she is blocking my ability.

Carlisle calls to me in his mind, silently asking if it is safe to go meet Laurent in the middle of the field. I nod tersely in reply.
My father meets the dark Frenchman in the center of the field and they shake hands pleasantly. "Hello!" I hear my father call out. I turn my attention away from the mental mute and focus on Laurent. "My name is Carlisle."

He's so…civil. The re eyed man thinks of my father. And their eyes? Why are they like that? Does it make them dangerous. I hope I do not offend these strange ones. "My name is Laurent," he introduces himself. "This is my coven. James," the blonde nods, "Victoria," another nod, "And Isabella." I see the head of chestnut hair bob slightly.

This is irritating me. If I can not read her mind, should I at least be allowed to see her facial expressions? This girl, unknowingly, has severally irked me.

"This is my family," Carlisle says politely, waving towards Esme. "My Wife Esme. Alice and her husband Jasper. Rosalie and her husband Emmett, and my son Edward." I almost laugh there, as he finishes. I am often tacked on at the end, not paired with anyone. I am alone, even in simply pleasantries.

"We live in the area," Carlisle continues. "Permanently."

All of their thoughts—save one, of course—are shocked. "Permanently?" Laurent repeated, stunned.

Esme, always the proper hostess, smiles warmly and invites them to freshen up at our house.

Laurent, after checking with his leader, accepts the offer. And then—finally!—I get a full view of Isabella.

She has a thin, yet toned, boy. Her skin is—of course—just as pale as mine and also as impenetrable.

Her mahogany hair surprises me with a light red hue. It falls down, framing her delicate heart shaped face. She has a wide forehead and slender nose, soft looking lips and large doe-shaped scarlet eyes.

I have seen many beautiful female vampires before—the Denali sisters were more than enough proof of that—and yet hers seemed…different to me. Her beauty—Isabella's beauty—is a timeless one. It reminds me of a renaissance painting depicting an ancient goddess.

But, more than that, it is an innocent, sincere beauty that make my eyes go wide and my breath stop short. I try, once again, to push past her mental wall only to be frustrated. Then suddenly, Isabella's ruby eyes art up to mine, locking them in her gaze before she looks down again.

She's shy. I feel relieved that I know this about her know, yet the knowledge only fuels t the desire to know more.

Without properly thinking about it, I follow after Alice and Jasper to greet Isabella.

"Hello Bella," Alice says, trying desperately not to run up and hug the shy girl. Jasper is sending her waves of calm the size of tycoons. Alice grinned brightly. We're gonna be best friends! She mentally squealed. I blinked. Had she had a vision I missed? How was that even possible?

The girl frowned. "Isabella." She corrected, though her voice was much too kind. It sounded like a light bell, ringing out through the meadow with an omniscient quietness. It was lovely.

Alice laughed. "No," she disagreed. "You're much more of a Bella," or at least you will be. "You just don't know it yet." She winked spiritedly before skipping off, dragging my brother happily behind her.

Isabella—or Bella, as I was growing fond of that nickname—didn't look at me, so I decided I would have to begin the conversation. I suddenly felt very nervous. There was an irrational wish that this girl like me. And that simply didn't make any sense. I was only going to see this girl for a day, at maximum. Why did I care what she thought?

But I did care. So much.

I cleared my throat in a mundane human gesture before saying "She's right, you know."

Bella's head whirled around, here eyes wide in surprise. She must not have realized he was there. She stood silent for a minute or two before asking, perhaps a little too hesitantly, "About what?"

I smiled widely at her. I couldn't help it, honestly. "You look much more 'Bella' than 'Isabella'. I told her honestly. "Bella means beautiful in Italian. Very appropriate."

Bella looked away from me, embarrassed. Why was she embarrassed? She must know she was beautiful. Rosalie certainly knew she was. Didn't all beautiful girls? What was she thinking?

"Are you doing that on purpose?" I demanded, needing to know if she was aware of her irritable shielding.

"I'm sorry?" she said, phrasing the apology as a question and showing me that she most likely didn't have any idea.

"Blocking me." I explained. "Is it accidental?"

She blinked a few times, otherwise staying perfectly still. She looked shyly away from me. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." She said softly.

I began to explain about my "gift" an her apparent shield, but a harsh voice called us before I could star.

James calls Bella to follow him, his thought towards me unkind. She smiles after me before leaving, and the sight leaves me paralyzed for a few moments.

What is she thinking?